IFU-30 AND CD ROM SYSTEM DIFFERENCES

[NiGHTS]

recently i found this pics




so whats the difference betwen those sets

i see the box of the two systems and are diferent to

so? one include the cd rom reades and one only the interface unit?

[rolins]

I think both pictures are from the same set; the briefcase with white pce + cd-rom2 unit.

[Michael Helgeson]

yep,as the system was sold as parts,for replacements,and the cd drive itself was sold because it was also used as a computer cd drive.Its scsi if I remember right.Also it made it easier to replace the cd-drive,or interface.So you didnt have to buy the whole thing over again.

[Michael Helgeson]

You could buy it all seperate basically is what I am saying.Also,NEC was supposed to have PC Engine repair shops,for those replacement parts I was told by Toshi,Game Theory Japan,or what ever his store is called now.Hes really nice,email him any questions and he will surely try to answer them.

[rolins]

You could buy it all seperate basically is what I am saying.Also,NEC was supposed to have PC Engine repair shops,for those replacement parts I was told by Toshi,Game Theory Japan,or what ever his store is called now.Hes really nice,email him any questions and he will surely try to answer them.

Toshi's ebay store is now called The Dream Stars and his ebay name is dream-stars-japan. I have no idea why he keeps changing the name, but he is one the best and honest sellers on ebay.

[NiGHTS]

yeah but.....then, the briefcase that says "ifu-30" came with the cd rom, and the one that says "cdrom2" is just only the interface unit???

[Michael Helgeson]

I cant explain why what is printed on what box,only tell you that yes,the interface and cd-rom were both sold seperately also incase you needed replacment parts or what ever.

[akamichi]

IFU-30 is the interface unit all by itself.  The one with CD-ROM System written on it is the "combo" unit which included the interface unit + CDROM (IFU-30A and CDR-30A).  

When the cdrom system was introduced for the PCE, the system was sold as two separate units.  However, soon after (sometime in '89 I believe) NEC combined them into one package.  Apparently the same CDROM drive was used in certain NEC computers so in theory all you needed was the interface unit in order to use it with the PCE.

I suspect that not many people had the CDROM drive by itself and since the PCE was a game system (sold in toy stores, etc) it was unlikely that people who bought the system even owned a computer let alone had the CDROM drive.  But then again, you could buy the CDROM first and use it as a regular music player until you could afford the interface unit (which was more expensive than the drive).

Anyway, the separate packages were short lived but the prices were exactly the same if you bought them separate or bundled.  However, I think only the IFU-30 by itself included System Card 1.0.  The bundles had 2.0 or 2.1.

[esteban]

IFU-30 is the interface unit all by itself.  The one with CD-ROM System written on it is the "combo" unit which included the interface unit + CDROM (IFU-30A and CDR-30A).  

When the cdrom system was introduced for the PCE, the system was sold as two separate units.  However, soon after (sometime in '89 I believe) NEC combined them into one package.  Apparently the same CDROM drive was used in certain NEC computers so in theory all you needed was the interface unit in order to use it with the PCE.

I suspect that not many people had the CDROM drive by itself and since the PCE was a game system (sold in toy stores, etc) it was unlikely that people who bought the system even owned a computer let alone had the CDROM drive.  But then again, you could buy the CDROM first and use it as a regular music player until you could afford the interface unit (which was more expensive than the drive).

Anyway, the separate packages were short lived but the prices were exactly the same if you bought them separate or bundled.  However, I think only the IFU-30 by itself included System Card 1.0.  The bundles had 2.0 or 2.1.

I always wondered wondered what system System Card  1.0 was included with!

I remember seeing a picture of a desktop tower PC with our beloved NEC CD-ROM drive plopped into the front top corner (above the floppy drives). You manually lifted up the cover to put CDs in the drive, of course (how old skool is that for a PC CD drive?!)

I believe this was a french site, one of the ones that has been around for awhile, and this pic was in the "oddities" section ... there were also pics of a computer monitor with a built-in HuCard slot, a massive collection of PCE phone cards, etc. (this might spark someone's memory). I'm sure I posted the link to this site ages ago, but I can't find it in my bookmarks.

[Keranu]

I can't see your pictures, but Akamichi explained it.